Knit One, Purl Two

I've taken a break from the Storm at Sea quilt. You might say I have quilter's block. First, I couldn't make up my mind on how to piece the back. My daughter suggested I connect the blue fabrics in strips with curves to make it look like undulating water. I like that idea, but haven't been in the mood to work with such large pieces of fabric. The mere bulk of the project has discouraged me. We definitely need a new bed quilt before next winter, though, as the two quilts we've been using are both falling apart at the seams.

In the meantime, I still needed to do something with my hands while watching TV. I can't do embroidery, cross-stitch, or needlepoint while watching TV, because I have to keep my eye on the pattern. Cross-stitch, in particular, requires a tremendous amount of concentration, because you have to keep count of your rows and placement of colors. At least with needlepoint I can follow a color pattern that is stamped onto the canvas. Embroidery can be difficult because I have to cross-reference with the instruction booklet as to which colors, stitches, and number of strands I should be using.

For me, the ideal solution for a simple, mindless craft project that isn't too bulky, is knitting.

I have had this basket of yarns sitting around the house for years. I think I collected the yarns for art projects when I was homeschooling my kids. However, my oldest is now in college and my youngest in high school, and somehow we never used up all that yarn. I felt it was about time that I pick up the knitting needles and put all that yarn to use.

My grandmother taught me to knit when I was very little. I remember getting frustrated learning how to cast on, so my grandmother had to do the first row for me, and I did the rest until it was time to cast off. Then Grandma came to the rescue again.

The problem is that was so long ago and I didn't remember the first thing about knitting. I saw that a bookseller had a knitting kit that included a book, yarn, needles, felt, and ribbon for sale at a very affordable price, so I ordered it. At first I was completely baffled by the book. It showed so many different types of knitting techniques, and I just wanted to remember the one that my Grandmother taught me. I ended up searching the Internet for knitting videos, which are much easier to follow than illustrations in a book.

I first learned how to cast on using the long-tail technique. I think I had to watch the video six times before it clicked. I'd do a row, be dissatisfied, unravel it, start over... However, the hardest part was that second row. My cast ons were so tight that I couldn't get a needle up through the loops. I finally figured out that the knitting technique my Grandmother taught me was the English knit method. Once I did six rows of that, I worked on learning the English purl method. Now I have three techniques under my belt and can start getting more creative.

I'm relieved that I was able to relearn it on my own, because I really didn't want to have to start taking classes in town. I don't need one more appointment on my already very busy calendar. I know what you are thinking: If I have time to knit, how busy can I be? Well, believe it or not, I am outrageously busy and I watch TV just before bed as a way to relax. However, I'm still too hyper to just sit there, so I have to be doing something with my hands. Thanks to these bamboo needles, I now can watch TV and use my hands to create something without actually having to look at what I'm doing.